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Barb Jungr - Man in the Long Black Coat - Times Square Chronicles

Feelings and attitudes about Bob Dylan fall into three categories:
millions love him, millions can't stand him and there is that vast
middle-like independents in the political spectrum-who have always
appreciated the messages in his lyrics but have had little tolerance for
the messenger's singing style. Even the cliché - like "chalk scratching
a blackboard" has been inadequate in characterizing Dylan's voice,
something the writer Joyce Carol Oates once described "as if sandpaper
could sing." I've long been one of those indifferent to Dylan because of
the dark rawness of that voice and never thought I'd discover a singer
who could shine a new light on his words for me.

But now I've heard Barb Jungr,
an acclaimed British-born chanteuse (and 2008 Nightlife Award-winner as
"outstanding cabaret vocalist"), who has been dazzling cabaret
audiences from coast to coast with her Dylan show "Man in the Long Black
Coat." With a rich voice that ranges from a whisper to a belt, an ease
with bringing a variety of emotions to the songs, combined with
intricate yet accessible arrangements, Jungr doesn't just interpret 13
Dylan classics, she re-imagines them. During her recent run at the Metropolitan Room,
Jungr observed that Dylan "doesn't have a conversation with his
feminine side," which made hearing his songs sensitively and
"righteously" (her favorite Dylan word) delivered by a female all the
more fascinating and engrossing.

Jungr's energy and passion for the material is evident from the first
bars of "Tangled Up in Blue," which becomes a jazzy, finger-snapping
epic opener, followed by a ballad-like interpretation of "It Ain't Me
Babe."

With a delivery both authoritative and adorable, Jungr relates her
fascination with how Dylan could write songs about "life experiences he
hadn't yet lived" and "the monster that grows inside when in love."
Jungr probably could include more than 13 songs in her 90-minute show,
but chooses to spend considerable time on her insights into and
anecdotes about the famed folk/blues icon and it works. Jungr brings a
cheeky humor to her between-songs script, an ideal juxtaposition to the
intensely emotional numbers.

After taking issue with a British newspaper listing "The Times They Are a Changin'" as only the 4th
best political song of all time, Jungr delivers the classic as a lyric
poem, featuring a pulsating keyboard interlude from her pianist,
MAC-award winner Tracy Stark, who also provides Jungr with terrific, yet
subtle background vocals throughout the set. Jungr then pulls great
laughs out of the audience when introducing her show's title song. "I
think it's about death," she says, "but what if it's really just about
man in a long, black coat." Either way, Jungr's interpretation makes it a
haunting opus. Stark follows with great work on "Things Have Changed,"
(from the film The Wonder Boys) giving ita hybrid classical/Latin groove.

Jungr's ability to inhabit Dylan's lyrical world only grows in
intensity as the set moves along. She transforms the bouncy "I Want
You," into a heart-wrenching ballad sung almost entirely in a whisper
(with Stark echoing the chorus line), plays the harmonica on a
gospel-tinged version of "Don't Think Twice," and reminds everyone why
"Sara" ("radiant jewel, mystical wife") is Dylan's greatest love song,
cooing the number with her eyes shut until the third chorus. The bluesy
"Trouble in Mind" is Jungr's nod to Dylan's gospel period and late 1970s
conversion to Born-Again Christianity, and features Stark's wonderful
mid-song piano riffing. Barb then grabs the harmonica again on "Blind
Willie McTell," Dylan's ode to the influential blues singer and
guitarist of the 1920s to ‘40s.

Jungr's take on "Like a Rolling Stone," is both rhythmic and
minimalist and she makes it totally her own, even getting away with
snapping her fingers through the whole song-practically a cardinal sin
of cabaret-because she's completely on beat, making it work as great
instrumental accompaniment.

If the audience hasn't become totally enveloped by this point, Jungr
ensures they will by turning "Forever Young" into a hard-driving gospel
rocker, working the whole Met Room stage, and getting the crowd to join
her on the two-word chorus. The choice of "With God on Our Side" (from
the 1964 album "The Times They Are A-Changin") as an encore couldn't
have been more ideal; a reminder of Dylan's true folk/protest song
essence. Through Dylan's words, Jungr achingly chronicles the
justification for a litany of wars before offering "If God is on our
side, he'll stop the next war."

While Barb Jungr is much more than a Bob Dylan tribute artist, her
show celebrating one of the world's greatest troubadours was-for this
Dylan non-believer anyway-a righteous revelation. She continues the show
at the Metropolitan Room on October 27, 28, and 29 (all at 7PM) and
will back in New York next April.